1995 Jeep Grand Cherokee

[sthomas77]

I currently have a 96 GC with an I6. I have a smallish 8x5 trailer that is rated for 3000 lbs. The Jeep is rated for 5000 lbs towing...I try to bring home about 1 full cord at a time, ~20 miles. I get 8-10mpg. If you go with it, the transmission, a 42re, is the weak link to the truck. Make sure to put in a cooler and change the rear diff fluid to 85w-140 synthetic. I like the set up because I can lock up my saws and other gear and not need to worry if I have other stops to make. I think mine runs best when its truly working....

 

[volks-man]

Our 4.0 Cherokees got right around 20 mpg, sometimes 22-23 on the HWY.

But if you don't need to haul the family around, a truck is always better

our 99 cherokee I-6 @ 199,000 miles gets 18-19mpg.
our 98 grand cherokee 5.9 limited @ 170,000 miles gets 17-18 mpg.

i love the 4.0 I-6 but come on now.... the 5.9's mpg is right on its heels with more weight and twice the get-up-and-go! where does all that I-6 gas go?

 

[anymanusa]

I have the 4.0 in my wrangler, and the best mpg I think I've ever seen was 15. I get better mileage in my diesel truck pulling the wrangler than I get driving the wrangler.

It really is that bad, and if you are considering getting one for 'a more economical family car', i would highly recommend against it.

 

[boatman]

For the amount of fire wood you are cutting I would get a good family car and a $1000 firewood truck.

I picked up a Dodge d300 one ton stake side with a 12' bed and 69,000 miles for $700 this summer. people just don't want those old gas trucks and they make great firewood trucks.

The family car gets 34 mpg. Saturn. And it's great in snow, mud, whatever.

 

[spike60]

The history on the Jeep 4.0 six is kind of interesting. It actually goes way back to the AMC "Torque Command" engine from the early sixties. They not only run forever, they've been around forever.

 

[sunfish]

our 99 cherokee I-6 @ 199,000 miles gets 18-19mpg.
our 98 grand cherokee 5.9 limited @ 170,000 miles gets 17-18 mpg.

i love the 4.0 I-6 but come on now.... the 5.9's mpg is right on its heels with more weight and twice the get-up-and-go! where does all that I-6 gas go?

Our 91 cherokee got 20-23 MPG, but this was before ethanol. Our 99 grand didn't get quite as good at 17-20. Both 4WD.

 

[TreeClimber57]

In 1995 the only available six cylinder was the venerable 4.0 straight six as far as I know. I have one in the regular cherokee( not the grand), and can tell you it will haul more trailer than it will stop easily. There is really not that much difference between the grand, and the base model as far as towing, it is mostly features and options. If you plan on relatively short trips, you can tow a decent trailer, especially if you have trailer brakes, but heavy towing and long trips are really too much. I had to add a tranny cooler and bigger radiator to pull a big pop camper up with mine. The six tends to run hot. It is a great engine, and very reliable. My best mpg ever was 23, but 14 to 18 was much closer to reality. I think it all depends on how much you plan to do.

Agreed.. it will easily pull a Class 2 trailer to max load. Get a small trailer -- load it up and pull it.

We have a 4 X 8 trailer.. can pull as much as you can put in box on pickup and is more versatile vehicle than pickup.

Mine is '98 Grand.. my son drives it pretty much all the time.

For business I have pickups with ARE commercial box mounted and bucket truck. But for home use hard to beat the Jeep.

Yes a good pick up will pull more.. but comparing the pickup box to a trailer the Grand will do it.

Just to play devils advocate, my 2007 gmc 1/2 ton with 5.3 v8 got a best ever of 21mpg, 14 to 18 regularly, and pulls a hell of alot more trailer... It did cost about 7 times as much! :bang:

True.. my pickup a Dodge 5.9 Litre Cummins will pull way more than the Jeep But different vehicle -- different intended use.. Not nearly as nice a family vehicle though..

 

[volks-man]

Our 91 cherokee got 20-23 MPG, but this was before ethanol. Our 99 grand didn't get quite as good at 17-20. Both 4WD.

both of mine pre-ethanol. one 4wd and one 'all-time' 4wd.
but.... i forgot to mention that the 98 5.9 REQUIRES premium fuel. so, that power does come at a cost, i suppose.

 

[dellwas]

I'll echo that. i have a '97 F350 with a 7.3L diesel. Was a company plow truck, came with 11 sets of keys, so you know it had a tough life, but it justs keeps ticking...

here's an option... i have an f250 super duty that gets 14-15 mpg loaded or not....you could do a f150 crew cab and do same mileage as a jeep, with more durability...i am biased cause we usually get around 500,000 miles from our fords with little maint. i worked on a fleet of 150 ford ambulances for seven years all averaged that mileage with original drive trains...the body will go before the drive train...the drivers didn't give a care about the trucks either, we had drive cam footage of some jumping railroad tracks once. it knocked it out of alignment but thats it...i was a diehard chevy guy before working on fords..i wont buy another chevy again... fords are truly ford tough no lies.

 

[bejay]

considering gas mileage isnt that great if you could get by with an extended or super cab 1/2 ton would probably be the way to go for a family vehicle/wood hauler.
the straight 6 is a tough engine and usually does out last the v-6 and v-8 but they all wear out eventually ive seen plenty that needed rebuilt due to low compression but they all had over 250k miles on them getting harder to find one now that wouldnt have alot of miles on it.
whats weird is that regardless of make,chrysler,chevy or ford the straight 6 or even the old slant 6 was always a tough engine.

 

[BretN333]

I had a '93 GC and could get between 1/4 and 1/3 cord of wood in there. Granted that was stacking big rounds nearly to the ceiling and not ideal for safe hauling. I never had a log go through the window, but I worried about it. Usually, I'd only load it that full on very short trips w/ city only driving. Mine had the v8 and never lacked for power, though it would sag a bunch and definately handled differently when fully loaded/over loaded.

At the time, it was what I had, so it was what I used. But I'm glad to have a crappy old F150 now, even if it doesn't run as well as the Jeep. The truck hauls more, is safer hauling more, and I just broom the mess out of the bed. If I had room for a trailer, maybe I'd still be using the jeep? I'd probably still want a truck.

 

[Krokit]

i have a 2001 grand cherokee 4.0 that i haul all my firewood with and have had no problems.I did put a 4'' lift on it some mud tires rock rails skid plates so i added a bunch of weight to it and still haul a cord of wood with my 5x8 trailer.Sometimes i'll hook up the 16foot trailer and it pulls it ok loaded up good but doesent like to stop it.I also had to think about hauling my family around too.I drive mine round trip is a 100 miles to and from work,i get about 17 to 18 mpg on highway.engine has over 182000 miles on it and no problems,i go wheeling a lot to windrock ohv park in tn. And around black mountain in ky.i have put my grand through hell and it just keeps going.I think if you got one you wouldnt be disapointed at all,plus like someone else said you can lock up your tools in the back.View attachment 169628

 

[ngzcaz]

I have a 95 G.C. Limited w/ the V8, 176,000. Nothing done to the engine or trans. The V8 is the best of the engines, still gets 20 mpg plus on a trip and so much power It's still fun to drive. Obviously a trailer is the way to go and don't worry about pulling it, it will handle anything you hang on it.
I also had a regular inline 6. It was OK, but not anywhere near the V8. No major problems with either.

 

[DLEngele]

Yeah I want one. It would be perfect for me for my sub jobs. Which is all I do really. Right now I stuff all my gear in my tree trunk and go. (2000 VW Passat sedan). Maybe this year.

 

[mohick]

if it's a 95 with a true v-6 someone has screwed with it, I 6 good always get 20- 25 mpg with ours . not for wood hauling ,might as well use a wheelbarrow!!! and you will bust windows out no matter if you don't think so!!!!

 

[DLEngele]

if it's a 95 with a true v-6 someone has screwed with it, I 6 good always get 20- 25 mpg with ours . not for wood hauling ,might as well use a wheelbarrow!!! and you will bust windows out no matter if you don't think so!!!!

It's just got to haul climbing gear and saws for me. Perfect.

 

[Marshy]

I haven't read this whole thread but figured I'd weigh in a little on the v6 in the Jeep's. If you don't know already, the v6's have an issue where the rocker arms loosen up and fall off the valve stem. They use and over head cam with a rocker arm setup and a lash adjusters on one side of the rocker, the valve stem is opposite of the lash adjusters and the cam is between the two. I have not read any good things once this issue arises. Some have replaced the valve seats and the issue did not go away. The lash adjusters seem to run out of travel and allow the lash to get too large and the rocker falls out. No damage results from this but you lose that cylinder as the valve won't open. Some people have shimmed the lash adjusters with washers and had success however, that is more of a redneck approach IMO. New lash adjusters alone were not able to remidy the issue, only the shims. My mother had a liberty renedlgade that started having the issue and I suggest she get rid of it because of it. It didn't have 200k on the engine but otherwise had good power for the engine size. If it's an option I suggest staying with the straight 6. You can read all about his issue on the Jeep/Chrysler forums.

Btw, you should have a straight 6 in a 95 and none of the above is applicable to the straight 6's.

 

[litefoot]

Some of these MPG numbers seem a bit exaggerated, unless you're driving around a 2WD model. The truth is that there ain't much difference between the MPG of ANY Cherokee and a 1/2 ton pickup. I personally wouldn't haul wood in a Cherokee. If you need a family vehicle and a wood hauler, buy a crew cab truck. But if you do get a 4WD Cherokee (which are good vehicles...my son drives a 1998 GC), try to find one with Selec-Trac...not QuadraTrac. Better MPG and fewer issues (i.e. viscous coupler).

 

[MarcusScott03]